The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-09-21
CASTLES IN THE AIR.
A Great Scheme to Build Town En-
tirely of Glass.
From the Macon (Ga,) Telegraph.

From the Macon (Ga.) Telegraph.
About q year ago, or perhaps a little
longer than that, a gentleman, very we'll
known in railroad circles, came INTO Macon
and his movements were SO singular that
his friends were led to believe he was trife
daft. The truth is he was in possession of
secret, and all of us have, at one time or
another had Just such an experience Let
man have Secret and he is never happy
until he finds some one to share it with him.
That Is the rule the world over. This man
was simply human, and he tod his secret,
and that too, to the reporter.
Then he felt better, and they say he went
out of town with a more complacent smile
on his face. Now that it has been so long
ago that no harm can come of telling it,
having expired by the statute of limitation,
you might say, so here goes: In the back
room of Il certain lawyers Office, our rail
road friend unrolled what appeared to be
the map of a well-laid off town or city
There We're railroads crossing the centre at
right angles, street car lines, and any num-
Der of public buildings, etc. When the map
was unrolled our friend hitched his chair up
closer and thus unbosomed himself: you
know we are grading . railroad over here
pointing in certain direction, "and have
made the discovery that there is an mex
haustible quantity of peculiar sand which
has undergone all the necessary tests and
fusions and will make glass, the like of
which the world has not known since the
days Of the ancients The glass made of it
is semi-transparent, having a milky tint, and
while as hard as steel is tough and flexible
to a certain degree. The heavy stroke of
Sledge hammer cannot break it. | find by
the tests that l have made that when once
melted it will not melt again. 1t is easily
nodded into any shape, and can turn out
blocks for bricks and building stones much
more rapidly than any brick-making ma
chinery in the world, and as cheaply, as the
sand requires no other mixture. 1t is SIM
ply sifted, melted and poured into molds.
/ can MAKE rails for railroads, and in fact
all the machinery of locomotive or any
machine you can think of from it, This
town you see drawn off here is to be built
entirely of glass, every building is to be of it,
the streets are to be paved with blocks of
glass, the sewers, piping, street car tracks,
and in fact, everything, will be built of
huge blocks OF glass. The public building
will be built of blocks of glass, aud will re-
semble in architectural beauty the most
beautiful and elaborate castles of the Old
World. The town, which will be one mile
square, will be surrounded by one large con-
tinous building two stories high, with
arches over the entrances TO each street. In
this great building propose to place work
men who will work entirely in glass, max
ing everything possible that is now made of
glass, iron, brass, copper, tin, celluloid, etc.
The comb that you comb your hair with
will be made from my glass, even to the
handle in your pocketknife. / shall revo-
lutionize manufactures III this country be-
cause everything made of this glass can be
made from ten to one hundred per cent.
cheaper than OF any other material Ny
town will be the wonder of the world. Just
think of town of glass, magnificent hotels,
churches, business houses, dwellings, streets,
fences and everything else you can think
of and all made of glass, perfectly indie
structible and fire proof People will flock
to it merely out of curiosity. They will
come thousands of miles to see it, Here is
the town laid off, and have had it drawn
so that it will have every possible conven-
fence, making it not only the most wonder
full town, but the model town of the world. :"
And thus did this schemer tell of the scheme
He was not daft, but enthusiastic over
project the details of which overawed the
newspaper man Then the railroader swore
his listener into secresy and left with the map
under his arm to organize a company to
operate the glass He was lost to sight I'M
til the other day when he came in town,
but there was nothing unusual in his de-
meanor TO indicate that he was still guard
ing a secret. He met the newspaper man,
who took him into convenient stairway
and asked him about the crystal city. Il
gave that up,n he said, with sigh, "busi-
ness men seemed afraid to take hold of it"
That was all he said, but the scribe was of
the opinion that the sand did not pan out.
But it was a wonderful scheme.